1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to a hanger assembly, sometimes called a valet rod, adapted to be attached to a vertically extending supporting surface of a storage compartment, such as the side wall or front edge of a panel in a modular closet organizer system, to provide a temporary station for hanging clothes or other objects while the articles are waiting to be sorted and distributed throughout the closet or in a suitcase for travel, or as an overnight station for clothes to be worn the next day, wherein the rod can be moved to an out-of-the-way position when not in use.
2. Description of the Prior Art
One form of hanger assembly is seen in U.S. Pat. No. 5,337,905 issued Aug. 16, 1994 to Arnold E. Gast. The Gast valet rod utilizes a rather cumbersome mounting sleeve which, in cooperation with the surface of a modular closet organizer panel, defines a guide shaft for sliding reception of an elongated hanger rod or arm, an arrangement that provides an inconsistent guiding surface.
Moreover, the Gast hanger assembly is designed for use in standard knock-down cabinetry, generally referred to as xe2x80x9cSystem 32 mmxe2x80x9d wherein the vertical panels include inner and outer vertically extending rows of holes, juxtaposed to their front and rear edges, generally spaced from each other by a distance of 32 mm. The holes are provided to frictionally receive protrusions or pegs of L-shaped shelf supports in a well known manner. The Gast mounting sleeve must be secured in a pair of holes in the front row and an aligned pair of holes in the rear row, making, the sleeve and hanger arm assembly particularly hard to retrofit into an existing storage compartment.
Finally, the need for a mounting sleeve which is long enough to receive substantially the entire length of the hanger rod and wide enough to engage front and rear holes above and below the rod on the storage compartment panel, renders the assembly bulky and unattractive.
Other prior art valet rod systems tend to be difficult to assemble or use, particulary in association with modular closet organizer systems wherein the panels are provided with pre-existing patterns of holes. Such other systems also tend to be relatively expensive to manufacture and/or aesthetically unacceptable.
It is a primary object of the instant invention to provide several embodiments of valet rods designed to be readily attached to selected supporting surfaces of a modular closet organizer or the like, which are relatively simple and inexpensive to manufacture, assemble and use, efficient in operation, and attractive in appearance.
A further object of this invention is the provision of embodiments of a hanger assembly of the type described especially adapted for installation using only the front row of pre-existing holes defined in the panels of a modular closet organizer.
Another object of this invention is provide a hanger assembly embodiment which can be used on either the left- or right-hand vertically extending surface of panels of modular closet organizer systems with minimal need for modification.
Yet another object of this invention is the provision of a hanger assembly wherein the hanger arm is rotatably fixed at one end to a small base member attached to a modular closet organizer panel for pivotal movement of a hanger arm between an operative position wherein it is supported in a generally horizontally extending relationship to receive and carry one or more articles spaced from the storage compartment, and a retracted position wherein it is substantially totally withdrawn into the closet compartment, closely adjacent to the panel surface, to avoid significantly obstructing the use of the closet.
A still further object of this invention is the provision of a uniquely attractive and functionally effective valet rod embodiment wherein the hanger arm is formed by a pair of arcuate elements secured to each other at an apex at one end to form a generally V-shape, with a pair of pivot members secured in vertically spaced relationship in the forward row of holes of a modular closet organizer panel, each pivot element slidably receiving one leg of the V-shaped hanger arm while rotating about its central axis as the hanger arm is moved between its retracted and operative positions.
Yet another object of this invention is the provision of an embodiment of hanger assembly in which a hanger arm is adapted to be pivotally carried by a base attached to the front edge of a modular closet organizer panel or the like when the use of valet rods designed for mounting on one of the side surfaces of such panels is inconvenient.
Upon further study of the specification and the appended claims, additional objects and advantages of this invention will become apparent to those skilled in the art.